


Cutting Hair, Solving Problems

by Kaiserkorresponds



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Bisexual Tim Stoker (The Magnus Archives), Canon-Typical Worms (The Magnus Archives), Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Gen, Gender Dysphoria, Good Friend Tim Stoker (The Magnus Archives), Haircuts, He/Him Pronouns For Nonbinary Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist, Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist & Tim Stoker Friendship, Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist Has ADHD, Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist Wears a Skirt, Nonbinary Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist, POV Tim Stoker (The Magnus Archives), The Magnus Archives Season 2, Tim cuts Jon's hair for him after the worms and there are feelings, Trans Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-01
Updated: 2020-12-01
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:02:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,622
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27754282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaiserkorresponds/pseuds/Kaiserkorresponds
Summary: "Jon, for Christ's sake– stay still. This isn't going to work if you keep fidgeting."Jon glared back in the mirror, the force of it almost impressive with how much irritation he was able to convey in just one scowl."I don't believe I remember you being an expert on hairstyling, Tim." He said pointedly.Tim let out something that was somewhere between a chuckle and a long, long suffering sigh."I know enough to say that fidgeting while I hold a sharp instrument centimeters from your face isn't gonna be one of your brightest moments, boss."--Tim cuts Jon's hair for him!! Featuring nonbinary Jon, post-worm trauma, and Tim Stoker being the best friend!!!
Comments: 10
Kudos: 99





	Cutting Hair, Solving Problems

"Jon, for Christ's sake– stay still. This isn't going to work if you keep fidgeting."

Jon glared back in the mirror, the force of it almost impressive with how much irritation he was able to convey in just one scowl. 

"I don't believe I remember you being an expert on hair styling, Tim." He said pointedly. 

Tim let out something that was somewhere between a chuckle and a long, long suffering sigh. 

"I know enough to say that fidgeting while I hold a sharp instrument centimeters from your face isn't gonna be one of your brightest moments, boss."

Jon's scowl deepened, and he looked thoroughly unimpressed. 

"Besides even if by some miracle, I don't poke your eye out with these–" Tim waved the scissors in a loose arc around Jon's overgrown hair. "Then it'd still be all choppy and uneven when I'm finished, and do you really want that?" 

Jon remained resolutely silent, and instead glared daggers at the scissors. 

And honestly it was fair, the ancient kitchen scissors from the breakroom weren't exactly confidence inspiring in their ability to give a decent haircut, even with Tim's, if he did say so himself, excellent hair styling skills. 

But at this point it was pretty much the only option. It wasn't as if Jon could saunter, more like stalk with how paranoid he was these days, into any old barber's shop down the block and ask for a trim. Not with the freshly healed scars scabbed over every visible inch of skin, and his twitchy tendency to snap at anything that moved. 

And that was ignoring the long standing gender divide that Jon had, and literally always had, with most hairstylists when it came to what was appropriate in terms of a haircut. 

Tim would prefer not to play interference between the next barber Jon went to and Jon's gender dysphoria again. Even without the added bonus of him being pricklier and more roughed up than a cactus, and twice as likely to stab you if you got too close. 

Thus, the kitchen scissors, and Tim standing in the flickery break room lights with his shoes stuck to the ancient carpeting, and the thick curls of Jon's hair held loosely in between two fingers. 

All while Jon would not stop fidgeting.

"Are you ready to sit still so I can cut it now?" Tim asked after the silent staring contest between Jon and the mirror they had scrounged up from one of the back rooms dragged on for far longer than he had the patience, or the will, for. 

Jon made an irritated noise, but dipped his head, finally, in acquisition. 

"Fine, but remember the pointed edges, and not to cut the top part straight across. It goes at an angle, and it'll all look completely wrong if it's not layered properly." 

"I've got it, boss. I do remember the rules of enby cuts from the last fifty times you've had a one. And I can guarantee that it'll turn out absolutely fantastic. If, and only if, you stop fidgeting though." 

Jon muttered something no doubt grouchy under his breath, but nodded again. "Alright. I can do that." 

"Great." Tim grinned, only a little bit wryly. "Ready for me to start cutting?" 

Jon took in a deep breath at the question, but nevertheless gave the signal to begin. 

Tim carefully raised his hand holding the scissors up to Jon's hair, and after a quick check for any signs of panic or discomfort and finding none, snipped the first lock. 

It fell almost gracefully to the floor, the thickness of it leading to it almost hang in the air for a second after he cut it, before landing in the grains of the carpet that Tim abruptly realized would be absolute hell to clean later. The tiny strand of it laid still in its wavy curl, pitch black, and undeniably Jon's, even with two other people in the office with dark hair, with the looseness to his curls and the rough, thick texture to it. 

The next few locks easily followed, and Tim fell into an easy rhythm of sectioning, and snipping, and carefully adjusting length.

"Doing okay, boss?" Tim asked, pausing his cutting after only a few minutes as Jon began to fidget again, looking slightly more than his usual baseline of uncomfortable. 

Jon gave a tight nod and his face looked tense, but not quite on the verge of disaster to where Tim would immediately call it quits yet.

"We can take a break if you need, or just not do this today. Or you know at all, if you just want to leave it long." He offered instead, sliding the scissors discreetly down under the line of sight, just as a precaution.

Jon shook his head a slight fraction. "No, no. I'm alright. Just keep going, I'll say if I want you to stop." 

Tim watched him for just a second to make sure that he was certain, but nothing seemed to point to an incoming disaster, so he just nodded. 

"Alright, just say the word then." 

Tim carefully lifted the scissors back up and began cutting at the next section, adding in the choppy, layered bits that Jon insisted on, and making sure to keep each movement easy and steady. 

"All good?" He asked again after only a few more snips. 

Jon nodded. "Yes, Tim. Continue, please." 

Tim fought the urge to tease him over the formality, but instead just gave his own nod back. 

"Course, you got it, boss." 

The rest of the cut passed in easy silence, not as friendly as it once was, but also not as electrically charged as some of their angrier conversations, and Tim still counted it as a win. 

"Alright, Jon." He said, setting down the scissors with a final click. "Want to check it out? Admire the finished product?"

Jon made a displeased face at the phrasing, but still glanced up from where he had been messing with a tangle and into the slightly dusty surface of the mirror. 

"Oh." He said softly. "That's– it's– thank you." 

He stared almost in awe at his reflection, and one of his hands came up to card through the significantly shorter strands, the paint on his nails flashing through the dark curls as he messed with the lay of the freshly added layers, and his fingertips running over where the tips of the points rested just under his temples. 

There were bits of gray feathered in that Tim had made look as though they were stylistic, rather than just a product of stress, and Jon ran his fingers over them as if they weren't something he detested for once. And, as he gently straightened the strands where the color fade had crept down towards the ends, he fingered the edges of them with a ghost of a smile Tim hadn't seen in years on his face. 

"Thank you, Tim." He said again, so earnestly and so openly, that for a second Tim had flashbacks of him back in Research. Grinning at his first time trying on a skirt, and smoothing down the pleats just in the same way that he was smoothing the strands of hair that stuck up just a bit. 

"Yeah, course." Tim said, "Can't have you walking around with it all messy like that. Someone might think you're a bloke. Or worse, that you're straight." 

Jon looked slightly affronted by that, and whether it was the notion that he had appeared to be cis for a while, or whether it was about the professionalism of making a queer joke at work, it disappeared almost immediately as he stroked a hand back through his freshly cut hair. 

"No, I wouldn't– wouldn't want that." He said softly. "Thank you, Tim." 

Tim swallowed down the sudden thickness in his throat at the lack of bite to the words, and quickly plastered on a smirk. 

"Of course, boss. Glad you like it, and that I won't have to fight any more transphobic stylists for a while at least." 

Jon nodded, running a hand one last time through his hair, and stood up. 

Brushing off the bits of curls that were stuck to the front of his jumper from the fallout, he gave Tim a stiff, and almost microscopic smile. "I– I appreciate it." 

Tim nodded in return, leaning back on his own heels. "Just wait til they see you down in artefact storage. Kasey'll have a fit at the new Mx. Jon Sims." 

Jon ducked his head awkwardly. "Yes, well, thank you again. I'll be in my office if you need me."

He strode off down the hallway, still with a bit of a limp, and shut the door. 

For once not with a slam, but rather a soft snick that almost mirrored the sound of the scissors clicking together and apart. 

Tim watched him go, and then the front of the shut door for almost a solid minute, ignoring the rush of emotions that had slammed full force into him at seeing Jon disappear back into the cramped office, with the tapes and the statements, and the still stained carpet that they hadn't been able to pry up no matter how hard they tried. 

Rapidly, he shook himself out of it, dropping the scissors into the sink for a rinsing and a wash later, and surveying the, now rather hairy, carpet. 

All of that was far out of his control, and the real mystery, and the thing he could solve right then, was exactly how he was gonna get Jon's hair out of the carpet fibers. Somehow without destroying the carpet, and/or looking like he'd just walked out of an animal shelters grooming sale.

**Author's Note:**

> This is entirely self indulgent but I thought still enjoyable !!!!! 
> 
> Also my timeline might not be perfect but it's set v early in season 2!!! 
> 
> If you'd like to follow me elsewhere, my Tumblr is @Kaiserkorresponds !!!


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